Autonomous moving robot

Abstract

This autonomous moving robot is an autonomous moving robot for reading a sign disposed along a movement path using an imaging unit mounted therein and being guided and moving in accordance with the sign. The autonomous moving robot includes a calculation unit having a limited-range search mode. In the limited-range search mode, a first scanning range is set in a part of a captured image captured by the imaging unit on the basis of a registration position of the sign and the sign is searched for in the first scanning range.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An autonomous moving robot for reading a sign disposed along a movement path using an imaging unit mounted therein, and being guided and moving in accordance with the sign, the autonomous moving robot comprising:
 a calculation unit having a limited-range search mode, the limited-range search mode in which a first scanning range is set in a part of a captured image captured by the imaging unit on the basis of a registration position of the sign and the sign is searched for in the first scanning range.   
     
     
         2 . The autonomous moving robot according to  claim 1 , wherein
 when the sign cannot be detected in the limited-range search mode, the calculation unit searches for the sign by switching the mode to a full-range search mode, the full-range search mode in which a second scanning range is set in the entire captured image and the sign is searched for in the second scanning range.   
     
     
         3 . The autonomous moving robot according to  claim 2 , wherein
 when the sign has been detected in the limited-range search mode or the full-range search mode, the calculation unit searches for the sign by switching the mode to a tracking mode, the tracking mode in which a third scanning range for tracking the sign is set and the sign is searched for in the third scanning range.   
     
     
         4 . The autonomous moving robot according to  claim 3 , wherein
 when the sign has not been detected in the tracking mode, the calculation unit searches for the sign by switching the mode to a re-search mode, the re-search mode in which a fourth scanning range that is the same range as the last third scanning range in which the sign could be detected is set and the sign is re-searched for a plurality of times in the fourth scanning range.   
     
     
         5 . The autonomous moving robot according to  claim 4 , wherein
 movement is stopped in the re-search mode.   
     
     
         6 . The autonomous moving robot according to  claim 4 , wherein
 when the sign cannot be detected in the re-search mode, the calculation unit searches for the sign by switching the mode to the full-range search mode.   
     
     
         7 . The autonomous moving robot according to  claim 1 , wherein
 a plurality of the signs are disposed along the movement path,   the registration position of the sign is set in correspondence with each sign of the plurality of the signs, and   the calculation unit searches for the sign based on the limited-range search mode by switching the registration position of the sign to a registration position corresponding to the each sign every time the sign for guiding the autonomous moving robot is switched.   
     
     
         8 . The autonomous moving robot according to  claim 1 , wherein when the sign has been detected, the calculation unit updates a detection position of the sign as the registration position of the sign to be subsequently searched for. 
     
     
         9 . The autonomous moving robot according to  claim 8 , wherein
 when the sign is searched for on the basis of an updated registration position of the sign in the limited-range search mode, the calculation unit sets the first scanning range that is smaller than a first scanning range based on a previous limited-range search mode.